Setting Up a Stall

It was still Moonlight Cafe at the entrance to Lubo Lane.

The cafe was located just a few dozen steps in from the mouth of Lubo Lane.

He arrived just as the Campus Clock Tower struck eight in the morning.

After setting the sign down there, he waited nearby.

His target customers were university students like Stur.

Tin City was foggier today, but as one of the city's bustling districts, the air here was nowhere near as full of coal ash as it was around Gallo's home.

At this hour, Lubo Lane was only just waking up, with some shop clerks sweeping their storefronts.

Moonlight Cafe was considered an early-opening establishment. An hour ago, its staff had already set out the outdoor tables and chairs again.

The rich aroma of coffee drifted from the cafe, spreading through half the street.

Gallo drew in a deep breath and felt considerably more refreshed with the scent of coffee filling his lungs.

The staff at Moonlight Cafe probably started work at seven in the morning.

"Hey... the usual. Just one sugar cube."

A man with a receding hairline, dressed in a brown wool sweater and carrying a leather briefcase, sat in one of the outdoor chairs. He was probably a regular here.

The waiter quickly brought him his coffee, and he squinted as he slowly sipped it.

As if he were using the coffee to wake every lazy cell in his body.

But unlike usual, Gallo standing outside the cafe caught his attention. However, from his angle, he could not make out what was written on the sign beside Gallo.

Only after he finished his coffee, paid, and slowly walked past did he get a full look at the sign.

At once, even his attempt to stroll past as though he did not care slowed considerably. In the end, he stopped and read it several times, making absolutely sure he had not misread it.

He stared at Gallo beside the sign in astonishment, and Gallo answered him with a smile.

The elderly man, who looked to be around sixty, gave a slight nod before leaving.

"This really is... a first. Even the most experienced colleagues in the department would not dare guarantee that they could do this in their own field.

And it even offers book-finding services... What kind of trick is this?

These schemes are getting harder and harder to figure out!"

Clearly, like Stur yesterday, the man had taken Gallo for some kind of little swindler.

Gallo merely smiled as he watched the old man who had stopped to inspect him briefly walk away.

That morning, some better-dressed citizens passed by and only cast curious glances at his sign without stopping.

Pedestrians were sparse on Lubo Lane in the early morning. Most were students rushing to morning classes, hurrying along without paying much attention to the crude GG Sign.

Time passed slowly, and Gallo's heart gradually sank, as cold as the air in the lane.

He wondered if he had been too naïve. This sort of street-side consultation would be difficult for strangers to trust, especially when offered by a half-grown boy like him.

Just as he felt that the morning would probably be a waste of time, a young man with tightly furrowed brows stopped in front of the sign.

He wore the dark blue uniform of Imperial Industrial University, with silver embroidery on the cuffs distinctive to its students. His brow was drawn tight, and his face bore the agitated look of someone who had been plagued by a difficult problem for a long time.

His gaze lingered on the line reading, "Content analysis, one Copper Nil per session," before shifting to Gallo beside the sign.

"Are you the one handling the services listed here?" the young university student asked.

Faced with his first potential customer of the day, Gallo answered enthusiastically, "Every service described on this sign is carried out by me."

The other man froze for a moment, suspicion in his voice. "You? What kind of content can you analyze?"

Gallo cleared his throat, trying to appear composed. "Just as the sign says, I can provide book-finding services. You can tell me what books you need at the moment.

Then I will tell you which bookstore is currently selling the books you need.

It can save you a great deal of time, and it only costs two Fenso per session!"

Gallo paused, then continued, "As for analysis, that depends on what you need analyzed, sir.

You provide the books, and I will quickly analyze them for you, though the fee is higher: one Copper Nil per session!

For anything more complicated, the price will need to be discussed.

You can state your specific needs, or tell me the field you are researching and the difficulties you have encountered.

I will do everything I can to find the books you need, then locate the content in them that can help you."

Gallo finished with a smile. "I provided content analysis for a customer yesterday evening, and he was very satisfied."

The young man looked Gallo up and down. Even after Gallo's lengthy explanation, he clearly did not hold much hope.

Still, he let out a long sigh and said helplessly, "I'm preparing a paper on 'Stress Distribution in High-Efficiency Steam Turbine Blades and Its Correlation with Material Fatigue.'

I need to find all fatigue-limit data concerning nickel-chromium alloys under high temperature and pressure, as well as the application prospects of the latest non-destructive testing technologies in this area.

The relevant materials in the library are either too outdated or scattered across dozens of different journals and monographs. I'm like a headless fly!

The best method would really be to obtain the data directly through experiments, but... I first need to compile a feasibility report for my professor.

Only after getting my professor's approval can I obtain the resources!"

It was an extremely specialized and specific request. Something stirred in Gallo's heart. This was exactly the kind of "Knowledge Navigation" service he had envisioned.

He did not answer immediately. Instead, he rubbed the corner of his eye and searched his memories with all his strength for the catalogues of every bookstore on this street.

The names of every book and journal related to metallurgy, materials science, mechanical engineering, steam power, and physical testing flashed and collided through his mind like streams of light.

At the same time, Gallo rapidly cross-referenced and filtered those titles, judging from their names what they might contain and arranging them by priority.

A few seconds later, Gallo looked at him and spoke quickly but clearly.

"Sir, the materials you need are indeed very scattered.

For basic fatigue data on nickel-chromium alloys, I recommend that you first look for Imperial Standard Metal Material Applications at Metallurgy Literature Bookstore.

For more cutting-edge research, you can consult the journal Steam Power: Applied Materials Science. Both can be found at New Knowledge Journal Press.

However, this one may be even more suitable: <Nickel-Chromium Integration in Industrial Engineering>, available at Joel No. 1 Bookstore!"

He paused, then continued, "As for the latest applications of non-destructive testing technology, especially for blade structures,

John Joe Bookstore has a copy of Frontiers of Industrial Non-Destructive Testing."

As the young man listened to Gallo smoothly recite the bookstore names and book titles, the suspicion on his face was gradually replaced by amazement.

Some of the information he knew about but had failed to find, while some of it he had never heard before.

For example, he already owned a copy of Imperial Standard Metal Material Applications.

He had heard of Steam Power: Applied Materials Science.

But he had never heard of <Nickel-Chromium Integration in Industrial Engineering> or Frontiers of Industrial Non-Destructive Testing.

And merely from their titles, the other party knew that those two books would most likely be useful to him.

"Frontiers of Industrial Non-Destructive Testing and <Nickel-Chromium Integration in Industrial Engineering>..." he muttered. Then he looked at Gallo and asked again, "Is this information accurate?"

"You can verify it right now," Gallo said calmly.

"If the information is wrong, I will not charge you.

If you buy those books from the bookstores I just mentioned, please come back here and pay for the consultation service. The book-finding consultation costs two Fenso per session, not even enough for a cup of coffee."

The young man stared at him for several seconds, seemingly making up his mind.

He took two one-Fenso coins from his wallet and handed them to Gallo.

"This is the consultation fee for finding the books.

If your information is truly useful, you will have saved me a great deal of time."

Gallo accepted the two one-Fenso coins, forcefully suppressing the excitement rising in his heart at making his first sale of the day.

This was his first income today. Opening for business was a good omen!

Seeing that the man had not yet left to buy the books and was instead still staring at the sign in front of Gallo, he asked whether there was anything else.

"I'm very curious about the content analysis service you offer."

Gallo's eyes lit up. He was unwilling to let his first-day customer slip away when there still seemed to be more business to draw from him.

He said softly, "You can bring the books you buy, or books you have not yet read, to me.

I will finish reading them in a very short time and, based on your needs, find the content you require and give you an overview of it."

He added, "One Copper Nil per book!"

The other man nodded, saying that he would first go buy those books and then return to find him.

"Thank you for your patronage." Gallo carefully put away the coins.

"My name is Gallo. I'll be here for the near future."

The young man nodded without saying anything more, then turned and hurried toward the first bookstore Gallo had mentioned.

Amid his excitement, Gallo habitually took out that greasy coin to divine whether the customer would return later for further content analysis.

The result of the coin toss was heads, which made him very happy, though the grime on the coin in his hand seemed darker than before.

He put the coin away separately in another pocket and began waiting for the next customer.

But after waiting a while, no one came. Instead, it was the same young university student from before, hurrying back at a light run with two books in his arms.

"Frontiers of Industrial Non-Destructive Testing and <Nickel-Chromium Integration in Industrial Engineering>—I bought both books at the two bookstores you mentioned.

I need the content analysis service!" he said breathlessly.

Gallo looked at him. "Content analysis for both books will cost two Copper Nil, and knowledge has its price. No bargaining."

The other man nodded and took two one-Copper Nil notes from his wallet.

"Don't rush. Let me finish reading these two books first." Gallo took the two books the man had just bought.

"Here?"

"What?" Gallo looked around. They were still standing on the street outside Moonlight Cafe.

"Let's sit in the cafe. We can sit outside. I'll buy you coffee." The young man took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Gallo certainly would not refuse free coffee. If they could find somewhere to sit, that would naturally be even better.

Seated in the outdoor chairs of Moonlight Cafe, Gallo kept his GG Sign standing at the corner of the table for display.

After ordering two coffees, Gallo began flipping through the two books at an outrageously fast pace under the other man's stunned gaze.

Yesterday, when Gallo's Learning was still lv2, he had needed to pause for around five or six seconds each time he turned a page before he could finish scanning and recording the contents of both pages.

But after increasing his attributes a little later, with Learning lv3 supporting him, he only needed to open a book and give it a quick glance. In one or two seconds, he could record all its contents.

All the written information in the books was automatically entered into Gallo's Memory for storage, as though it had been scanned by a computer from his previous life.

In around five minutes, he finished Frontiers of Industrial Non-Destructive Testing and picked up the remaining book.

<Nickel-Chromium Integration in Industrial Engineering> was thinner, and he spent only a little over two minutes on it.

After finishing both books, he closed his eyes and carefully recalled their contents, using his mind to extract their essential points.

Then he began slowly and thoroughly explaining the core content of both books to the other man.

"Sl-slower, please! Heaven, why didn't I bring a pen?

I should be writing down every word you just said. What you've told me is practically a perfect report."

The other man searched all over himself but could not find a pen.

Gallo smiled. "Unless you have the skills of a stenographer, you should just remember what I said in your head."

He continued, "Keep it in your head. Even if you cannot remember everything, when you read these two books afterward, you will be much faster and the content will feel familiar.

You'll be able to understand what the text says more quickly and find what you need within it."

"Hahaha!" The young man happily stood up and thanked Gallo.

"What you just explained was exactly what I needed. This is incredible—you're amazing!"

Gallo pointed at the sign beside him. "I make my living through my skills.

If you need anything else, feel free to come find me. I'd like to find myself a regular customer too."

"Of course!"

Perhaps the young university student's successful verification created a GG Effect. Over the rest of the morning, Gallo received three more customers in succession.

Two simply needed help finding books, earning him an easy four Fenso.

The other was a young female student who needed printed editions of captains' voyage logs, or related research, for her history paper on "Control of Southern Continent Spice Routes in Early Iron Glory Empire Colonial Trade."

Once again relying on his powerful Memory and Learning ability, Gallo directed her to three bookstores that might hold such obscure materials, earning another two Fenso.

At noon, he asked the cafe waiter for a cup of hot water to eat with the rye bread he had brought from home.

As long as he ordered a cup of coffee, he could remain here all day.

After the hot water and bread settled in his stomach, he felt warm all over and recovered quite a bit of energy.

Business was relatively quiet that afternoon, but he was not discouraged.

Using his spare time, he visited several bookstores in succession, pretending to browse while actually rapidly memorizing new catalogues.

He checked whether the books in the stores had been rearranged and whether any new books that had not been sold before had been put on the shelves.

Near evening, just as Gallo was preparing to pack up and go home, a familiar figure came running over. It was Stur.

"Gallo! You're really still here!" Stur panted, though his face glowed with excited color.

"I showed my professor the draft of my report yesterday, and he even praised me!

He said my train of thought was extremely clear, especially my grasp of the core of Babbage's ideas! It's all thanks to you!"